


everything will glow for you

by nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)



Series: dimension 20 [79]
Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: (its not super relevant to the fic but its true in my heart), Breaking and Entering, Campaign 03: The Unsleeping City, Crushes, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, He/They Pronouns for Cody "Night Angel" Walsh, Hot Topic, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Transphobia, Lowercase, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Cody "Night Angel" Walsh, again. not super relevant. but i know it to be true
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27945995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife
Summary: Cody invites Pete to one of his 4am Hot Topic runs. It works out pretty well, all told.
Relationships: Cody "Night Angel" Walsh/Pete Conlan, Cody Walsh/Pete the Plug
Series: dimension 20 [79]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706107
Comments: 9
Kudos: 82





	everything will glow for you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [grasslandgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/grasslandgirl/gifts).



> title from the love club by lorde which is a Them song

cody stares at pete and pete stares serenely back. cody narrows his eyes. pete gives him an angelic smile. which is fucking unfair of him because apparently he's met literal angels and he's practically beaming right at cody and that shouldn't be _allowed_ , and besides, "you're supposed to be talking me out of this," cody says, frowning suspiciously at his- friend, although there've been, like, _vibes_ , recently, but it's fucking complicated, _whatever_ \- he's being suspicious. this is suspicious.

pete holds eye contact for another second before laughing. he's got a great laugh, and cody can't help flushing a little bit whenever he hears it, it's just that it's honestly the kind of laugh cody can only think to describe as _twinkling_ , and every time he laughs all cody really wants to do is make him do it again, and again and again, and _whatever_ , that's not the point. pete laughs, and rubs the back of his neck.

"i was fully a drug dealer for a while, cody, i don't really care about you breaking and entering at the mall," he says, and cody feels a little thrill at the way pete says his name and a little jolt of hurt at how honest he sounds when he says he doesn't care, but then, yeah, why would he? they've known each other for like a week, and just because cody's got a fucking crush and pete is cool and thinks cody is cool, apparently, doesn't mean pete thinks he's any more than the weird sword roommate who sold his soul to a hot topic demon. it's fine.

pete continues, "just try and be quiet when you come back? since it'll be late and nasir doesn't seem like the type to appreciate being woken up at four am for some jack skellington shirts."

cody snorts. the first time he came home late from the mall and made a little too much noise, nasir told him to shut up or get stabbed with one of his own swords, and then stole one of the adventure time hats, and was totally unapologetic in the morning.

as he thinks this, though, he realizes the implication in pete's words- that he won't be angry at being awoken because he won't be asleep, and the offer comes out of his mouth before he has a chance to think about it.

"you could come? with me, if you want," cody says, trying desperately to sound casual.

pete looks surprised. has cody been that much of an asshole? does he have plans? fuck, fuck, he can't take it back now- "i mean, i could use another hand, i can only carry so much and climb the fence."

there. there. definitely practical and not an accidental sort of date. this is fine. fuck.

cody has no idea what pete is thinking and he kind of wants to take a page out of nasir's book and stab himself with one of his swords before pete nods and gives cody a small smile.

"sure, night angel. i'll help you liberate the hot topic."

cody can feel himself blushing but it's not his fault that pete is one of the only people who calls him night angel as often as cody and with the same amount of sincerity, and it's just _nice_ , _fuck_. cody is so fucked.

(this opinion is reinforced when he gives pete a boost over the fence and gets a glimpse of his arms under his jacket. doesn't he work at a bookstore? none of this is fair. _fuck._ )

* * *

"so, why do you care about this hot topic so much?" pete asks, arms full of little no-face plushies. "i mean, i know you hate gladiator, but like. why _this_ hot topic? they aren't exactly unique."

cody pauses where he's collecting cat ear headphones of various colors.

he thinks about being seventeen and angry and confused and irritated by all the people in the mall giving him weird looks but not being willing to go home to the disappointment and anger just yet. about mostly stumbling into hot topic for the first time. how he'd seen a girl with neon orange hair and a lip piercing and a guy in a mesh shirt seemingly for the sole purpose of showing off his jagged, black tattoos. how it had felt like coming home.

he thinks about being nineteen and getting hired for the first time and how his manager hadn't even blinked at his request to have his name tag say "night angel" or the fact that sometimes cody's pronoun pin changed.

"my first manager was named cody," is what he blurts out instead of any kind of coherent answer, and he only barely restrains himself from hitting his head against a wall, and it’s still really only for the sake of the merchandise in his arms.

cody sets the headphones he's still holding back on the shelf, and moves over to the counter.

"he was, uh, really fuckin' cool. y'know? he ended up quitting, college shit or whatever, but he, uh, recommended me as his replacement. and he was just, like, a fucking cool dude. we used to take smoke breaks together. and when he left i, uh. sorta-took-his-name."

pete's sitting on the counter and has pulled his legs up from where they were hanging so he can pile the no-faces in his lap, and he's looking at cody, and his expression is soft and understanding and non judgemental, and the only light in the hot topic is coming from the green butterfly made out of sparkles and light that’s flying around the room.

"that's... that's really sweet, cody," pete says, and cody can't tell if he's imagining things or if pete really is sitting closer to him than he was before.

"uh," cody says, coughing awkwardly, " _fuck_. thanks, dude."

pete smiles at him, and the butterfly finishes its circuit around the room and comes to a rest on pete's shoulder. in the green light of the magic, he looks... well. magical. it's been a while since cody's written poetry but looking at pete, cross legged on the counter of a not-quite abandoned hot topic with a magical butterfly on his shoulder, he thinks he might have to pull out his journal again.

cody hopes the relative darkness hides his blush as his thoughts get increasingly sappy, but his train of thought is soon interrupted by pete leaning forward.

"hey night angel?"

"yeah?"

"can i kiss you?"

"fuck- _yeah_."

(pete tastes like peppermint and what cody will later learn is chamomile. this isn't a very important fact in the grand scheme of things, but it features heavily in some of the poems that follow their four am b&e-first date.)

**Author's Note:**

> im on tumblr @nonbinarywithaknife


End file.
